Strada Camden

Isha C. ( 20s, Female, London )

As far as Italian restaurant chains go, I usually really love Strada. Their menu is more homely and the service more personal than the likes of Pizza Express and Prezzo.

Not the one on Parkway though. I went for dinner the other night and the service was a complete joke. After being seated, our waitor didn't take our order for half an hour, despite the restaurant being less than a quarter full. He eventually took our drinks orders and came back 15 minutes later with not only the wrong wine, but red instead of white, then swore as we corrected his mistake. The food also took forever, and when it did arrive, it was cold, probably because the waitor was standing with our plates in his hand talking to an Italian couple a few tables down from us. He didn't ask us if we wanted dessert, and when my friend asked someone else if she could have a latte, we had to then remind them twice. When our bill came, the waitor brought the wrong card machine, then couldn't use the correct one properly (again, swearing…both at us and himself). I saw that the discretionary service charge had already been added in to the bill, so when I said we didn't want to pay it, he flipped, and gave a rant about how it's part of his wage.

As we left, no one saw us out, or said goodbye, despite both of us having been perfectly polite and patient the entire evening. It's a shame as I thought highly of Strada before, and this one on Parkway is very local for us. I am never going back, and if for some reason I am made to, I am going to request to be served only by the manager.